So far, we’ve learned some useful Chinese air travel vocabulary, as well as how to buy a plane ticket in Chinese. Now that you’ve got your ticket and some important words/phrases down, it’s time to head to the airport. Today we’ll learn how to get a cab, check in for your flight, find your gate, and more in this Chinese lesson – at the airport.

Getting to the Airport

First up, you’ll need to get yourself to the airport. In most Chinese cities, it’s possible to get to the airport on the subway or by public bus. It doesn’t require a whole lot of Chinese to buy a bus/subway ticket, though, so here’s a sample conversation of catching a cab to the airport:

你好
nǐ hǎo
Hello

你好，去哪儿？
nǐ hǎo, qù nǎ’er
Hello, where are you going?

我要去飞机场。可以吗？
wǒ yào qù fēi jī chǎng. kě yǐ ma
I want to to go to the airport. Is that OK?

可以。哪个航站？
kě yǐ. nǎ ge háng zhàn
Sure. What terminal?

我看，是2号。
wǒ kàn, shì 2 hào
Let me see, it’s #2.

好的，走吧。
hǎo de, zǒu ba
Alright, let’s go
…

到了，这是2号航站。
dào le, zhè shì 2 hào háng zhàn
We’re there, this is terminal #2.

好，多少钱?
hǎo, duō shǎo qián
Alright, how much?

七十块。
qī shí kuài
70 kuai.

我有一百。
wǒ yǒu yī bǎi
I have 100.

找你三十块。
zhǎo nǐ sān shí kuài
I’ll give you back 30 kuai.

好，谢谢！
hǎo, xiè xiè
Great, thanks!

不用，慢走。
bù yòng, màn zǒu
You’re welcome, take care.

Checking In

Now that you’ve made it to the airport, it’s time to check in for your flight. Here’s a short sample conversation between a customer and an airline employee:

下位顾客。
xià wèi gù kè
Next customer.

你好。
nǐ hǎo
Hello.

你好，去哪里今天？
nǐ hǎo, qù nǎ lǐ jīn tiān
Hello, where are you going today?

我去西安。
wǒ qù xī’ān
I’m going to Xi’an.

请给我你的护照。
qǐng gěi wǒ nǐ de hù zhào
Please give me your passport

给你了。
gěi nǐ le
Here you are.

你有托运行李吗？
nǐ yǒu tuō yùn xíng lǐ ma
Do you have checked baggage?

有一个。
yǒu yī gè
I have one.

请把你的行李放在这里。
qǐng bǎ nǐ de xíng lǐ fàng zài zhè lǐ
Please put your luggage here.

…

不好意思，你的行李太重了。
bù hǎo yì si, nǐ de xíng lǐ tài zhòng le
Sorry, your luggage is too heavy.

怎么办？
zěn me bàn
What can we do?

你需要交费。
nǐ xū yào jiāo fèi
You need to pay the fee.

多少钱？
duō shǎo qián
How much is it?

我看，是一百五十块。
wǒ kàn, shì yī bǎi wǔ shí kuài
Let me see, it’s 150 kuai.

给你两百块。
gěi nǐ liǎng bǎi kuài
Here’s 200 kuai.

稍等一下。找你五十块。
shāo děng yī xià. zhǎo nǐ wǔ shí kuài
Please wait a minute. I’ll give you back 50 kuai.

…

好，这是你的登机牌。
hǎo, zhè shì nǐ de dēng jī pái
Alright, this is your boarding pass.

谢谢。请问，是哪个登机口？
xiè xiè. qǐng wèn, shì nǎ ge dēng jī kǒu?
Thanks. Excuse me, what gate is it?

登机口是A17。
dēng jī kǒu shì A17.
It’s gate A17.

好，谢谢你。
hǎo, xiè xiè nǐ
Great, thank you.

没关系。祝你旅游愉快。
méi guān xì. zhù nǐ lǚ yóu yú kuài
You’re welcome. I hope you have a pleasant trip.

Boarding Your Flight

Once you’ve made it through security and found your gate, hopefully you’ve got a few minutes to sit down and relax. That is, if you can find a seat. Chinese airports tend to be busy and crowded. You’ll want to listen for an announcement for when your flight is boarding. It might be something like:

航班号CA1231正在登机
háng bān hào CA1231 zhèng zài dēng jī
Flight Number CA1231 is now boarding.

Flying is hard work, isn’t it? Especially in another language. The next post in the series will be all about the flight – finding your seat, ordering food/drinks, asking for things like an extra pillow and more.